Planlama itirazlarında halkın kazanma oranı yüzde 41

A new study looks at planning appeals in Malta. Pedament made the study. It looks at final decisions from 2021 to 2025. There were 580 final decisions. In 238 of them, the appeal won fully or partly.

Third-party appeals come from people other than the applicant. Neighbours and residents can make them. Their success rate was 41 percent. Developers and owners appealed against refusals. Their success rate was 38 percent.

In 2025, people made 138 third-party appeals. This is a record number. But only 1.8 percent of permits got this kind of appeal. The tribunal is also faster now. In 2025, the middle time was 7.8 months from the first hearing. In 2020, it was 18.2 months.

Between 2021 and 2025, there were 580 final decisions on planning appeals. In 238 of them, third-party appeals were accepted fully or partly. This means a success rate of 41 per cent. The figures come from a new analysis by Pedament, which is a Malta property data platform.

Third-party appeals are made by people who are not the applicant. Environmental NGOs, residents and neighbours belong to this group. In 2025, 138 third-party appeals were filed, which is a record. They made up 33 per cent of all planning appeals that year, compared with 21 per cent in 2014.

Some developers have said that planning appeals are used in bad faith to delay development. However, the findings show a different picture. Applicants have become less likely to appeal against refusals. The share of refused applications that were appealed fell from 58 per cent in 2014 to 43 per cent in 2025. Between 2021 and 2025, developers or owners who appealed against refusals had a success rate of 38 per cent.

The tribunal has also become faster. In 2025, the median time from the first hearing to a decision was 7.8 months. In 2020, it was 18.2 months. At the end of 2020, 914 appeals were waiting. By the end of 2025, this number had fallen to 328.

A new analysis has looked at how often third-party planning appeals succeed in Malta. Between 2021 and 2025, 238 of the 580 final decisions fully or partly accepted such appeals, which means a success rate of 41%. The analysis was prepared by Pedament, a Maltese property data platform. Third-party appeals are filed by people other than the applicant, including environmental NGOs, residents and neighbours.

Some developers claim that planning appeals are systematically used in bad faith to delay development. In 2025, 138 third-party appeals were filed, a record number that made up 33% of all planning appeals that year, compared with 21% in 2014. Even so, only 127 of the permits granted in 2025 attracted a third-party appeal, which is 1.8%. At the same time, applicants have become less likely to appeal against refusals, with the appealed share falling from 58% in 2014 to 43% in 2025.

Between 2021 and 2025, third-party appellants succeeded in 41% of cases, while developers or owners appealing refusals succeeded in 38%. The gap has opened up in recent years, and since 2023 the public side's success rate has been higher than applicants' every year. The rise in successful appeals has been driven largely by partial wins.

The government has proposed reforms under which a tribunal would hold its first sitting within 30 days and decide an appeal within six months. In 2025, the median time from the first hearing to a decision was 7.8 months, compared with 18.2 months in 2020. Of the appeals first heard in the second half of 2025, 72% were concluded within six months. The backlog has also fallen sharply, from 914 appeals at the end of 2020 to 328 at the end of 2025.

In the 259 court cases with usable dates, the median time from the original Planning Authority decision to the Court of Appeal ruling was 23 months. Court rulings were recorded for 31% of third-party appeals first decided between 2021 and 2025, compared with 7.6% of appeals against refusals.

Third-party objections to planning permits succeeded, wholly or in part, in 238 of the 580 final decisions issued between 2021 and 2025, a success rate of 41 per cent. The finding emerges from a new analysis of Malta's planning appeals system prepared by Pedament. Third-party appeals are lodged by people other than the applicant, a group that includes environmental NGOs, residents and neighbours.

The findings paint a rather different picture from the claims of some developers, who allege that planning appeals are systematically abused in bad faith to delay development. In 2025, a record 138 third-party appeals were filed, accounting for 33 per cent of all planning appeals that year, compared with 21 per cent in 2014. Nevertheless, the proportion of approved developments that actually attract a third-party appeal remains relatively low. According to Pedament, 127 of the permits granted in 2025 drew such an appeal, which corresponds to 1.8 per cent.

Between 2021 and 2025, third-party appellants succeeded in 41 per cent of cases, whereas developers or owners contesting a refusal succeeded in only 38 per cent. Of the 140 third-party appeals that reached a final decision in 2025, 11 were upheld in full, 45 were partially upheld and 56 were dismissed. The rise in successful third-party appeals is largely attributable to partial victories.

Third-party appeals tend to cluster in particular localities. Between 2020 and 2025, Sliema recorded 70 such appeals, followed by St Julian's and St Paul's Bay with 32 each and Naxxar with 24. Relative to permits granted, Sliema again topped the list, with 71 third-party appeals per thousand permits.

The tribunal has meanwhile shortened its decision times considerably, which is particularly relevant to the government's proposed reforms. In 2025, the median time for appeals decided was 7.8 months from the first hearing, compared with 18.2 months in 2020. Whereas only 8 per cent of appeals first heard in the first half of 2019 were decided within six months, the figure for the second half of 2025 was 72 per cent. The backlog fell sharply as well, from 914 appeals at the end of 2020 to 328 at the end of 2025. The proposed six-month deadline is therefore approaching current performance, although the median time between the Planning Authority's decision and the final tribunal ruling will need to be reduced further.

The court stage, however, remains slower. For the 259 court cases with usable dates, the median time from the original Planning Authority decision to the Court of Appeal ruling was 23 months. Third-party appeals reached the Court of Appeal far more often than appeals against refusals, at 31 per cent compared with 7.6 per cent.

Of the 580 final decisions handed down between 2021 and 2025, third-party planning appeals were upheld in whole or in part in 238, which amounts to a success rate of 41 per cent. The finding emerges from a new analysis of Malta's planning appeals system by Pedament, a property data platform. Such appeals are lodged by anyone other than the applicant, a category that takes in environmental NGOs, residents and neighbours.

The figures sit uneasily with the claim, voiced by some developers, that planning appeals are systematically abused in bad faith to hold up development. In 2025, 138 third-party appeals were filed, a record that accounted for 33 per cent of all planning appeals that year, against 21 per cent in 2014. Even so, only a small fraction of approved developments actually meet with such an objection: 127 of the permits issued in 2025 drew one, or 1.8 per cent. Meanwhile, applicants have grown less inclined to contest refusals, with the share of refusals appealed falling from 58 per cent in 2014 to 43 per cent in 2025.

Between 2021 and 2025, third-party appellants succeeded 41 per cent of the time, whereas developers or owners challenging a refusal prevailed in just 38 per cent of cases. The gap has widened in recent years, and since 2023 the public side has outpaced applicants appealing refusals every single year. Of the 140 third-party appeals that reached a final decision in 2025, 11 were upheld in full, 45 in part and 56 were rejected. The rise in successful appeals is thus driven largely by partial victories, which made up two in every five successes in 2014.

Third-party appeals tend to cluster in particular localities, with Sliema recording 70 between 2020 and 2025, followed by St Julian's and St Paul's Bay with 32 apiece and Naxxar with 24. Measured against the number of permits, Sliema saw 71 third-party appeals per thousand permits, with Lija next at 60. The findings also point to a strong overlap between the areas where developers contest refusals and those where third parties contest approvals.

Not only has the tribunal been quicker, it has also whittled down its caseload: the median time from first hearing to decision stood at 7.8 months in 2025, compared with 18.2 months in 2020. Among appeals first heard in the second half of 2025, 72 per cent were resolved within six months, whereas only 8 per cent of those first heard in the first half of 2019 had been. The backlog shrank from 914 pending appeals at the end of 2020 to 328 at the end of 2025. The court stage remains markedly slower, however, with a median of 23 months from the original Planning Authority decision to a ruling by the Court of Appeal across the 259 files with usable dates. Third-party appeals are also taken to court far more often than appeals against refusals, at 31 per cent against 7.6 per cent.